Hohner Arbor Series

Hohner Arbor Series - les paul copy
copy of gibsons, obviously. they were mid 80's - early 90's as far as i know
i own a gibson 1974 custom, and the hohner owns it every time, even before i upgraded it.
i changed the pickups to EMG's, a ZW set.

sound is amazing. before i changed pickups, it was a warm, bluesy sound. now its raw and "brutal" on distortion, and glassy, sparkling, on cleans.
i play mainly proggy, brutal stuff right now, so this fits it perfectly. the neck is fast, the weight is nicely balanced, and the vintage wood makes it warm, and hench at the same time. it's great for a tight meshuggah/textures/monuments/bulb/periphery/tesseract sound, and gives me a nice mesa sound.

looks beautiful. end of.

using elixir anti-rusts, i never have to change strings now. ernie ball's are ****. haha
this thing is a ******* tank man

never had to deal with them, but have checked out their endoursement regime, and theyr nice people!

i use a framus head, with a custom 2x12 cab loaded with fane speakers for an all-round sound, but with a really tight sound. im going to be buying the strat copy MX1 soon too which will give me a new sound. iv owned this for five years, and its been my main stage guitar and studio guitar since. i love it, simply. other guitars include gibsons, fenders, esp's and a couple custom Carvin and framus guitars. this will beef the shit outta them. im going on tour again soon and then to the studio again, so this will be my main weapon. get one while you still can

strat copy (exact copy, down to the headstock shape).
2-colour sunburst.
cheap strat tremolo.
very cheap-feeling/looking plastic tuners.
neck is a very nice medium C-shape, rosewood 'board, 21 frets.
plywood body.
3 singles, 5-way switch.
made at least 10 years ago.

only tried it through a marshall valvestate with a cheap behringer stompbox but very surprised by the quality of the sounds. hum isnt too bad. despite the plywood body, and the cheap bridge with a pot metal block, it rings out nicely when unplugged. really surpised by this. i got it free off a friend with the intention of changing pickups and everything, but i think i'll leave the neck and middle pickups in. i'll put a humbucker in the bridge just because that is my preffered setup for hard rock.
basically it sounds like a strat. maybe not a great strat, but its unmistakeably a stratocaster sound.

very nice fretwork. neck is great!

really no actual flaws i can think of, just some cheap and easily replaceable hardware (tuners, bridge)

a strat should last you a long long time

love the neck. my only problems are the cheap tuners (which arent even that bad, but i plan on using the trem once i replace it) and the bridge (i really think its worthwhile putting a wilkinson or other quality steel-block bridge, for increased resonance/sustain)

i cant really give this guitar a rating as i was given it free and intended from the beginning to do heavy mods to it. BUT i was pleasantly surpised by it and have decided to cut back on the mods. basically, its already a nice guitar with a lot of potential. thats what i love about these "cheap" strat clones - you really can change just about anything you want with them

Strat style solid body finished in midnight blue with pearl (or Marbled?) scratch plate. Light coloured (Maple?) neck and headstock with Rosewood fret board. Original Hohner Trem system and bridge, Fender pickups (Black, SSS.) and Chrome knobs (vol and 2 X tone) Black tip on 5 way switch. Black nut and replacement Kluson style tuners. I think this was made in Korea in the late 80's or 90's but not sure. ( serial number on neck plate is E703564)
This guitar has been very much upgraded..mostly cosmetic ( It really looks good) Tuners and PUP's have also been upgraded making this guitar really stand out in looks and performance.

Bought this on ebay recently so have not had time to really play it at full throttle but when I unpacked it, I tuned it up, plugged it into my 15 watt practice amp (clean) and was bowled over by the range of sounds from 'twangy' rock n' roll to deep soulful blues. Getting it to go loud was not the issue... I couldn't get it to go quiet enough to play in my flat without blowing my doors open.....!
First impressions....I love it.
Likes..........Looks, playability and sound are outstanding.
Dislikes.......Wrong type of tuners fitted. Plastic chrome knobs.

I bought it used and the previous owner had done some upgrade work and set the action low and fast. Intonation was only slightly out and the neck needed a slight tweak to reduce the slight bow. Frets have some wear in places and there was some 'tizzing' when playing open chords. This will all be fixed when I re-fret it and re-set the action to my liking. Pick ups are not original ( maybe Fender Squire or better), were well adjusted and gave an amazing range of sounds from deep and rich (almost bass) to 'so bright it was blinding'. Tuners have been replaced by modern Kluson style leaving ugly marks and empty holes where the original ( two screw) tuners once were. I will replace these mediocre tuners with good quality two screw tuners of the correct type as soon as I can. Generally, it stays in tune.

I won't play it live until I have changed the tuners, fixed the frets, tweaked the action, checked out the electrics and re-string.
Apart from the mediocre replacement tuners and knobs, the hardware is good quality and rock solid. Hohner guitars have a reputation for build quality and finish.... this Strat copy is no exception...It is immaculate after 20 (ish) years and will probably look good well after I pop my clogs The strap buttons look solid enough but I ain't tested them yet.....I would never do a gig without a backup. I always take a Strat and a Les Paul ( 70's Hohner)

No experience with Hohner customer Support.

I've only been playing seriously for a few years and have several guitars. Mostly cheap strat copies, a Jim Deacon acoustic, a travel guitar, a 70's Hohner Les Paul and the Hohner Arbor Strat. I got a Yamaha keyboard, some effects and some recording gear. I use a 15 watt practice amp in my apartment and plug into my mates Mesa Boogie when we want to get serious. I'd be really upset if something happened to this guitar. It is a one off. It looks great, sounds great, built like a tank and is easily a match ( and more) for the thing it is meant to copy. I think some manufacturers should try to copy Hohner copies..... They are really becoming collectable. Like most other commentators in this forum, I bought the Hohner because I thought that , with a little effort, it could cut the mustard at a fraction of the cost of a 'You know what' and I have been proven right. If it was a motorbike, it would be a BMW..( and I got one of them too..!)

White with 5 stars half black half white points.
Strat style
Bridge with a hole for your Tremolo
Gold Coloured Tuners
Thin neck, Rosewood, medium frets, smooth
22 frets
solid top
1 volume, 2 tone
5-way selector
3 Single Coin Pickups, Bridge Pickup turned a little

I use this guitar for any music style, i think it fits in every style. I'm using a Peavey Classic (2x50Watts) and something i use the Boss Bleus Drive. When I first bought it it wasn't really good but i took it to the guitar shop for a total check-up and i can't imagine playing on a guitar that fits me better. The strings are very close to the neck.

the only complain is that the sizes of the hardware aren't standard

As i said, the guitar wasn't something i would play on these days, but with the adjustments the guitarshop have done its a lot better.

I absolutely take this guitar on stage.
I would take a backup guitar with me in case a string will break, i mean you never know.

If you want to repair this guitar its very hard because of the sizes of the hardware. The only time i take it to repair was in the first year, never had troubles since.

I wanted to try an other guitar but nothing goes above my Hohner Arbor Series. I will never sell it, even if someone offered a miljon euro for it. I love this guitar.

I had a Hohner Arbor superstrat (pointy headstock) as my first guitar, from about 1987 to 1992.
22-fret.
Instead of a single 3-way or 5-way there were individual on/off controls for each pick-up.
Bridge humbucker & two single coils.
Tremolo but not locking

In those days I normally used the bridge pick-up only, which gave a decent metal sound.

Occasionally used neck pick-up which gave an interesting if thin lead sound. Not like the neck pick-up on a strat - something different.

But when I moved to a customised Fender with DiMarizo humbucker I really noticed the difference - the Hohner was dull and thin by comparison.

Can't remember now about set-up, but finish was quite nice for a budget guitar. "Charcoal fire" it was called - a metallic dark grey.

Stood up to transportation for 5 years without a hard case, never a problem in any controls or any damage to finsish. (I then gave it to a friend and then lost touch with him.)

Never had to deal with Hohner, support from retailer was fine.

I would have used it a gig in those days but I only had drum gigs in those days. Wouldn't use it now because of sound.

But if you see a really cheap one 2nd hand I'd say it's good for a first guitar for a few years if the player likes metal.

Hohner Arbor Series 'Les Paul'. Serial# E703489 circa 1988/89.
22 frets. Originally had 2 HB's, 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 3-way selector.
Body laminated ply with unknown wood top. Originally sunburst finish. This model was reviewed in UK 'Kerrang!' magazine around '87 or '88.
Had all the features you'd expect from a Les Paul copy.

Quite reasonable sound, sounds good through distortion pedal (Boss HM-2) and practice amps (Marshall 12W, plus Marshall MS-4).

Glued-on plastic nut soon had to be re-glued on. Tuners still fine, neck still plays well despite being scalloped (did it myself, though I wouldn't recommend the procedure, it could easily weaken the neck). Refinished neck, sanded it down and applied gunstock oil. Now much smoother than the 'sticky' lacquer finish it came with.

The guitar on the whole is durable. I've refinished the guitar so often that I was starting to wear through the top. The guitar body is now covered in a layer of fibreglass resin. Electronics currently removed, but the resin gives it a bright sustain when played acoustically. You can tell this is my 'testbed' guitar for messing around with, but I still play it daily, from classical pieces to heavy rock.

Not applicable.

I've played this guitar on and off since 1988 or so. It was cheap to begin with, and thanks to my 'customisation' it now has no resale value, but I've taken it apart, refinished it countless times, sanded it, repaired cracks in the top, and it's still going strong. This is the electric I throw in a backpack if I want to take a guitar to a jam session or even on holiday. Has served me well.

i barely know anything about this guitar but it is so nice to play. Mine has a very mellow sound. mines green but ive had to replace the sctratchplate because the person who had it before me must have left it next to the radiator! ive also had to rplace the pick up switch because the plastic broke! I got the guitar free of a mate who didnt hav space for it! Bonus!!

i love every thing about the sound!

i dont really care because it sounds so good i have a humbucker and two singles

apart from the scratchplate and pic up switch brill considering the age of it

???it's an old guitar!!

just a beauty

22 frets.
1 volume and 2 tone knobs
3 single coil elements with a 5 way switch.

i like the sound

good. beautifull black.

the 5 way switxch/selector is of plastic and has been broken. The size is not standard so I had to drill an extra hole in the "slagplaat".....
The potmeters are noisy.
But the value is good for the money.

no opinion i boiught it second hand

I own it now for 3 years and i am quite happy with it. It is a cheap and good guitar. Best value for the money

Hohner Arbor MX1 series

This is a lead/rhythm guitar

I don't know when this was made - I was told its early 90's. Its a Fender Stratocaster shape. Body's a deep lustreful metalic red with a black scratch plate. There are three pickups - standards for the neck and centre and a humbucker at the bridge. There's 1 volume control, two tone and a 5-way pickup selector. There's an additional 'Gain boost' toggle switch - of debateable value. Neck is one piece with a truss rod and rosewood fretboard with 21 frets. Fretting could be a little finer - but its not bad. Quality of the chroming is also fantastic on the jack socket, neck plate, machine heads bridge and tremelo. The guitar came without the tremelo arm - but the effect's good and highly controlable using the heel of the hand.

Strings are positively held in place - by a system possibly designed by a bondage freak. Machine heads in the usual place with 2 guide rings. Then a tie-down plate machine head side of the 0 fret. Bridge side - strings disappear Fender style and there are 6 fine tuning knobs. Quite tasty.

Not the lightest of guitars - noth the heaviest - but a quality build.

Huge variety of sounds available -it can appear quite bassy at times but can also be made to sound like a tin can - very versatile.

Bulet-proof. Action is OK - could be lower and the fretting - certainly above 12th could be a lot finer.

Bullet-proof.

Not dealt with them - its an old model and not much info seems available

Bought this as part of a package with a Laney Linebacker and some pedals - it was great value - especially as it came with a hard case that looks nuclear-war proof.

i dont know wher did it made ..it has 22 frets and this guitar pretty old..and has some problems at 21 22 frtes..need some work i think... it has 1 v 2 tone pots classic strat but differences is when i opened the pickguard i saw that the pots are 500k ..generally for single coiled guitars i use 250 k pots ..anyway it also has an hpf like in ibanez's js models 100/1000/6000..that schoked me becaues this is a cheap guitar and that tech smelling thign make me amazed:))) anyway i read at onether web page that this is an this model is a strat copy..yes it is..pickguard with 8 screws and 3 single coils with a three way control..and its color is ike the jimi's one.. i liked the neck and frets

sound isnt really cool but suprising..

i got this guitar from a friend of mine..i dont know where she got it..when i take it from her it was in a very bad situation but now looks like a guitar.i changed set up..i re set uped to say it another way:))) finis looks old which makes me feel like using a reall old kinda guitar so nice..screws are rusted plus the picups..

this guitar cant withstand live playing..needs some modifications..after some modifications i can rdepend on it..

i dont know more abput the company but i've seen cool guitars made by them..never dealt with the company

what i love about this guitar is the finis..the look..maybe after spending a few dollars maybe it will sound better:))